The Chasm
by redskittle25
Summary: Sakura finds a way into a curious world where spirits and gods dwell and those who cross over cease to age. Now Sakura must ask the difficult question: Does even Heaven have it's dark corners? Set in the 1960s this is a tale of Japanese folklore, passion, and the darkness that dwells between our world and theirs. sakuxSasu
1. Crossing Over

The ages change as the story progresses. I do not own Naruto. Enjoy

August of 1966, the rainforest of the Amazon

Chapter 1: Crossing Over

"How well I have learned that there is no fence to sit on between heaven and hell. There is a deep, wide gulf, a chasm, and in that chasm is no place for any man." –Johnny Cash

A swallowed sob found it's way back up Sakura's throat as she tripped over yet another large root of a strangler fig tree. She stumbled to catch her balance and continued to run full speed to the waterfall ahead. The high-pitched screech of brown and black howler monkeys echoed through her head, bouncing off the walls of every hideous emotion that inhabited the darkest corners of her mind. For a moment she lost focus as two leering eyes of the enormous alligator that inhabited the water stared longingly at her slim frame that his body ached to devour.

"Out of my way." she hissed as she dove head first into the water pouring from above. The waterfall had such force that she didn't even have time to see the jagged edges of the rocks below that would inevitably end her life.

"We're…. we're moving?" Sakura shook her head trying to understand the full impact of their words. All she could manage to do was stare dumbly at her hands folded on her lap.

"Oh menina, we thought you would be so happy…?" knelt down next to her only daughter and rubbed her shoulder lovingly. "What fourteen year old girl wouldn't want to go to live a normal life in a normal country?"

The word normal always struck Sakura as a very peculiar adjective. In Baghdad, Shi'ites males as young as six beat their chests with razers and bath in each other's blood in a ceremony mourning Mohammad's grandson who died for his followers. This, to them, was normal.

"You wouldn't even have to have a mosquito nest over your bed anymore and all those pesky shots you hate so much, well, you won't need them in America!" suggested from across the table.

"But I have friends here!" Sakura cried. Of course this wasn't true and her parents knew it. It was hard living in the Amazon where your pink hair and fair skin stood out against the native villagers. Her parents had come to Brazil as missionaries to aid the tribes that had little contact with the outside world. These tribesmen mostly kept to themselves but when one of their people's lives were in jeopardy they would always come to the helpful home of the Haruno family. "I just don't understand… you guys love working here so why the sudden change?" Sakura hated the way her voice came out in a childish whine. Sasuke would disapprove.

_Sasuke!_

Sakura grew impatient to hear her parents reply. All she could think about was how she had to get to the waterfall as soon as she could. "Well, you see," started uneasily, "there are some people here who don't like us educating and helping these natives. They think it will give them certain ideas about revolution."

"More like equality," Mrs. Haruno snorted.

"America has decided to take us in as refugees for now. We hope to be able return to your grandparents and all your elementary school friends in Japan soon though."

Sakura couldn't take it anymore. The only thing she could think of was how she could ever manage to leave Sasuke.

"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed as her head broke the glass-like surface of the Great Aio River. "Sasuke! Sasuke!" She paddled as fast as she could until her fingers hit the muddy ground of the riverbank. She scrambled to her feet and stumbled her way on to the soft grass. She loved the grass here. It was so soft, like a puppy's fur. She rolled over on her back to see the clear blue sky, something she rarely saw back at home. If she could call the Amazon home that is. She felt her bottom lip tremble as the tears slid involuntarily down the sides of her face. "Sasuke…"

"Yes?" A face eclipsed the sun and clear blue sky from her view but boy was she ever so happy to see him. "You're not looking too good kid. Tears don't suite you."

Despite her ever-growing despair Sakura choked out a genuine laugh before lightly placing her index and middle finger on his forehead and playefully pushing him away so she could sit up. She tried in vein to wipe her tears away on her soaking arm as she turned to face Sasuke.

"I'm leaving." Sakura whispered. To her surprise Sasuke smiled.

"Good. You deserve a normal life in a normal country."

Sakura rolled her eyes. There was that word again: normal. "That's what my mom said. She wants everything to be all so… _normal."_

Sasuke just chuckled and shook his head. If you remember I'm actually older than your mom I just don't look like it. Aren't you the one who pointed out that I'm going to be sixty-six soon? Besides, if they could see inside your twisted little mind like I an they would know that there was no way of saving you now.

"If you actually believed that you would stop trying to fix me all the time." Sakura ran her fingers through the fine, soft grass. When she first started crossing over she would pick flowers and grass but she soon learned from Lord Osanshouo that these things were forbidden because it would disrupt the balance of this world. To Sakura, the balance seemed to be thrown of kilter too easy for her liking.

"I don't try to fix you Sakura I try to educate you." Sasuke took notice to Sakura's gentle handling of the earth around her. "You've grown since you started coming here. You've learned a lot."

_I have haven't I_. Sakura thought silently to herself.

"Damn you two! I want to know why she's leaving!" An angry Ino jumped from the bushes followed by a wailing Hinata. Hinata stumbled over her chubby 3 year old legs into Sakura's arms still crying.

"Wh-why-why Sakura-ra- chan?"

Sakura pet Hinata's hair lovingly. Out of all of the Kawa children Hinata was her favorite. Something about how she wore her heart on her sleeve made Sakura admire her. It was a brave ability that even the strongest men didn't have. "For our safety." Sakura looked up at Ino who stood defiantly with her arms crossed. As tough of a demeanor Ino tried to hold Sakura could still see her eyes begin to water.

"The safest place for you to live is here with us. So that excuse doesn't count!" Ino stomped her foot in the way sassy seven year old girls do. Like Sasuke, all of the Kawa children ceased to age once they crossed over. Ironically, little Hinata was the eldest child. Nobody knew her exact age and nobody ever asked. There was always an unsettling fear of knowing just how long this place had been there.

Once a child crossed over they very rarely were able to cross back. Even if they could go freely, none would want to. This place had been created as a safe haven for children of varying age to live in peace. All of the Kawas had been abused in some way or another and in the midst of the most terrible situation Lord Osanshouo extracted them from their world and planted them in his. There were few serious rules about living on this side, but one of the most important was that you never talk about the past.

"Ino, would you do me a favor and take Hinata back home and send Lord Osanshouo our way please? I promise Sakura will come visit before she leaves. Besides, I doubt this will be the last time we'll see her. She probably won't leave for a couple more months, right Sakura?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura blushed. "I- I don't exactly know… I didn't ask. I came here as soon as a found out." She knew she had messed up. She should have been more patient. Damn her childish behavior. She so often wished that she were more mature, like Sasuke. He had all the wisdom of someone who had lived over six decades yet still had the youthful body of a sixteen year old.

Hinata scooted off Sakura's lap and gently kissed her cheek. "Goodbye Sakura,I love you." She whispered in her small childish voice. For some reason this broke Sakura's heart just a little bit. She hugged Hinata before releasing her into Ino's care.

"We'll have to work on your patience." There it was again, always trying to fix her. "Your world moves fast and the brash are always the first to get a bullet through their head."

Sasuke never told Sakura what had happened to him that landed him in this world but whatever it was it had blurred the line between pessimism and realism for him. He was always making bitter jabs at the human race that sent a chill down Sakura's spine. Something wicked had happened to that boy.

"Well that's just the thing… we're kind of in a hurry to leave. I guess there are some pretty powerful people here that don't like my parents educating the natives. We're moving to America because they promised to take us in as refugees."

Sasuke's face grew very grave. "Your parents are good people Sakura. Remember that." Both Sakura and Sasuke proceeded to sink into a thoughtful silence until the soft patting of Lord Osanshouo's webbed feet were heard just inches away.

Sakura remembered how odd looking she thought Lord Osanshouo was with his salamander appearance and human demeanor. He was a salamander god that protected the children as well as the Great Aio River. In all, there were thirty lords that protected and insured the balance of this great realm they lived in. They were called the Trinity because the lords were separated into three categories: water, air, and earth. There were ten in each.

"So, you're leaving. I can't say I'm too upset. Of course, I don't want to see you go but you need to live a normal life in a normal country." The great salamander said as he slowly lowered himself down to sit with Sakura and Sasuke. He smoothed out his Kimono and placed his staff across his lap.

Sakura cringed at that word again. "Why does everyone keep saying that?"

Osanshouo laughed heartily, "Because it's true Sakura. For some reason, you have the ability to pass between these worlds as freely as you want. Although I disapprove of the way you do it, you will find your way back if you ever truly need us."

Sakura's lower lip began to tremble. The first time she crossed over it was a year ago. She went swimming in that waterfall and the alligator had come after her. She would never forget that moment. She opened her eyes underwater just to see the open mouth of a monster rocketing towards her. Ever since then she would just try one way or another to kill herself in the waterfall and she would always end up back in Sasuke's world. No one else had ever possessed the power to go back and forth as freely as Sakura did. But she knew that it wasn't her. It was the waterfall.

"I know." She whispered. She knew that unlike the Kawa children her life was just fine the way it was. Her parents loved her and she spent most of her time helping the sick and injured. So truthfully, there would never be a time when she needed them. Sakura knew that she was not the only one to realize this. Sasuke was extremely quiet as he stared down the vast royal blue Aio River. The water of the river was something else that struck Sakura as odd. It was completely still and if a wake was made it immediately ended after it had been created. It was one of the most breath taking spectacles of nature she had ever seen. "I'm going to miss you." He finally murmured, never taking his gaze from the river. "But you need this in order to be happy."

Sakura swallowed hard as she felt a blush creep up her neck and onto her face. Sasuke never spoke like this. He was always so brooding and focused. Emotions weren't really his forte.

"We'll all miss you Sakura. I understand from Ino that the move is for your family's safety. That means the move isn't far off. So come see the children and spend as much time as you can with each one."

Surely enough, Osanshouo was right. Sakura's family moved only two weeks after breaking the news to her. During those two weeks she was kept busy for punishment after running off into the rainforest for several hours. She had no time to sneak off to the rainforest and was forced to leave without giving the salamander, the Kawa children, or Sasuke a final visit.


	2. Helter Skelter

August 10, 1969

Chapter 2: Helter Skelter

This chapter is based on true events.

"By the prickling of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes." –Shakespeare

Sakura tugged at the bottom of her dress uncomfortably. She hated wearing dresses but she hadn't seen her parents in half a year so she tried her hardest to look presentable. She glanced over uncomfortably at the black gentleman driving the taxi back to her home in Los Feliz. She had always been an advocate for the civil rights but now that it was night and she was alone with a black man in a taxi she thought maybe she wasn't as ok with equality as she had previously thought. _The brash are the first to get shot in the head_. Sakura took a deep breath and decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"So… what's been new around here? I haven't been home in a while."

The taxi drive raised one eyebrow curiously at Sakura. "Well not much. Seems like the revolution is winding down… I have to say ma'am I didn't expect someone like you to let me drive them home so late. Usually I just drive black folk around at night."

Sakura smiled. He seemed kind. "I'm not like most people."

The taxi driver grinned and chuckled a little bit. "Maybe things really are changing around here." An awkward silence fell between the two as The Beatles continued to play on the radio. "Do you like these boys?" The man gestured to the radio.

"The Beatles?" Sakura leaned up against the window and pulled her legs in to her chest. "Kind of… I didn't like them at first. I thought their music wasn't anything special but this particular song is ok."

"You can turn it up if you would like ma'am."

"You don't need to call me ma'am…"

"Well then may I ask your name?"

"I'm Mary LaBianca." Sakura lied. Or at least it felt like lying. That was the name they had given her on her arrival in the states. She hated it.

"Well ok then. You can just call me Amos if you like." Sakura noticed the laugh lines around his eyes and the way his hands were knotted from years of arthritis. He had to be around seventy.

_Just like Sasuke…_

Sakura shook her head in a physical attempt to rid her mind of the past.

"Say," said Amos, "there is something that's been going on around here I forgot all about it!" The old taxi slowly crept its way up into Sakura's neighborhood.

"What would that be?" Sakura normally could have cared less about the pointless celebrity knowledge that society insisted on shoving down her throat. But the way Marvin looked uncomfortable…. It churned something in her: curiosity.

"Well, there's been a murder up in Belaire. A real prestigious family." Amos' eyes darted to the enormous homes that towered above them; built on the basis of gluttony and ladder climbing.

Normally, news like this would excite Sakura. She would never admit it but she was also pretty certain that this is how everyone reacted to truly horrorshow news. Why else would there always be stories of mayhem littering the tabloids and news? It created a certain excitement that most people lacked in their everyday lives. One man's despair is another mans treasure.

But no, this time was different. As the car pulled up to the front of her overly large house, Sakura handed Amos a wad of folded bills. She was certain it was way too much but she seemed to have fallen under the strangest of trances.

Amos' eyes filled with concern as he stared from the waded up money to Sakura's blank, wide-eyed face with dread. He didn't want her to go inside. He had felt it too; there was something terribly, terribly wrong. "Ma'am… are you sure-"

"I'm fine." Seeing as he wasn't going to take the money Sakura dropped it in his cup holder and threw her leather bag over her shoulder. She slammed the door closed and walked slowly with each foot strategically placed in front of the other. She needed to go inside. Someone, something, was waiting for her. She couldn't help but feel like a fish being reeled into a world that was much more complicated than she had every know; one where she couldn't survive.

Amos rubbed his hands together nervously. He was being ludicrous. There was nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing. He took a shaky breath before deciding the least he could do was to make sure she would get safely inside her house. He watched as Sakura approached her door and reached timidly for the doorknob. The door was unlocked and she slipped away behind it with ease. He let out a sigh of relief before chuckling to himself for being so ridiculous. "You superstitious old fool!" He scolded himself as he put his car back into drive.

Amos let out a small yelp and slammed on his breaks as his radio went haywire and started switching channels all by itself while on full volume. "Damn old machine!" Amos cried as he banged on his radio and continued driving once more.

The radio settled for a station where The Beatles were playing once more.

_Well do you, don't you want me to love you_

_I'm coming down fast but don't let me break you_

Amos turned every knob and pressed every button but no matter what he could do the radio wouldn't respond. He had no idea his music could even go that loud!

_Look out!_

_Helter Skelter, Helter Skelter_

_Helter Skelter. _

At first everything seemed normal. Her raggedy brown boots made hardly any noise as she walked across her enormous kitchen room. She stopped immediately in front of her refrigerator. Dripping in blood, were the words HEALTER SKELTER. "Oh my god." She whimpered as she covered her mouth with two shaky hands. It was happening

Then she could her the voices.

"You idiot you spelled it wrong!" Not her mother.

"Shut up Leslie I spelled it right!" Not her father.

"You two this is not the time. We stick together as a family remember?" Yet another man, who was still not her father.

It felt like a syringe had been jammed into her heart continuously pumping adrenaline into her tiny body. The first thing she saw as she entered her living room was "death to pigs" written on one of the walls and "rise" on another with the same blood that Healter Skelter was written in. She very calmly walked into the room and the people standing around her fathers dead body immediately stopped their bickering.

She felt wired, as if battery acid was the very blood that surged through her body. It was the only thing keeping her going at this point. Her father was sat upright, slumped slightly, with his shirt unbuttoned and pushed back.

"Do you like what we've done with the place?" Leslie asked in a dreamy voice. She was a pretty girl with long brown hair and dilated pupils that looked like black marbles rolling about in her eye sockets. She was high as a kite. "Just a few renovations really…" She gestured with her blood soaked hands to the word WAR carved crudely across 's chest. "Artwork."

"What should we do with her Charlie?" Asked the second man who had supposedly spelled something wrong. He was dirty, and fidgety. He was one of the hippies that her parents despised so much. He also looked like someone Sakura would hang out with on very different basis.

"H-e-l-t-e-r s-k-e-l-t-e-r." Sakura was surprised at how steady her voice sounded. It must have been the adrenaline. "You did spell it wrong. She was right." Sakura lifted her arm and pointed to Leslie in a zombie like manner. She never took her eyes off of her dad. "That carving fork in his stomach…" She said as her hand dropped to her side, "I gave it to him for Fathers Day last year."

"Charlie?" Asked a third girl, not nearly as pretty as the first but much more blood soaked. Everyone's gaze had fixed on a single man who was squatted down on the floor playing with one of Sakura's dogs.

He stared at Sakura with fascination. "You don't seem very scared?" He stood up slowly and gave her a warm smile. "I'm Charles, Charles Manson, but you can just call me Charlie!" As he took steps closer to Sakura, Sakura took steps farther from him. "No, no, no don't be afraid! I want to invite you to join our family!" The rest of the people in the room seemed shocked at his sudden proposition.

The syringe in Sakura's heart pushed another shot of adrenaline into her blood. Battery acid pumping, heart thumping, she had to get out of there.

She turned and ran. She could hear the screech of the female family members as they demanded the men hurry and catch her. Sakura flew around the corner slipping only slightly as she headed through her dining room to her back door. As she flung the screen door open she could feel someone's fingers just brush the back of her hair in an attempt to yank her back inside the house. She jumped the three steps down onto her cement walkway that lead straight to her pool. _Her pool!_

"Sakuraaaa.." She could hear Charlie cackle. He must have been the one to touch her hair because he was barely more than a few feet behind her.

_How does he know my name?_ Sakura took a leap of faith, literally, as she landed ungracefully in her pool. _I need you, I need you, I need you"_ She could hear a splash behind her as Charlie jumped in after her. _SASUKE PLEASE, I NEED YOU!_

Helter Skelter: watch?v=QWuXmfgXVxY


	3. When the Levee Breaks

Chapter 3: When the Levee Breaks

"I wanted to put a bullet between the eyes of every panda who wouldn't screw to save his species, I wanted to dump oil over all those French beaches I'd never see, I wanted to breath smoke... I felt like destroying something beautiful." –Palahniuk

Just as Sakura began to let go of all hope the water began to warm. And not only did it become warm but it became incredibly still and dark as well. It was unnaturally still, so unnatural that it meant Sakura could only be one place.

Home.

"NOOOO!" Sakura screeched as her mouth filled with water and her head broke the surface of the calm Aio river. She thrashed about, her clothes and leather bag drowning her. Small dots of light began crowding her vision and her ears filled with whispers. Was this what it was like to die? As the small dots of light descended on her she could feel each one grab ahold of her clothing and drag her through the water. The small dots formed a puddle of light that she rested on while they brought her to shore. She realized that the whispers intruding her mind were coming from the light. Were they lightning bugs? No they had an organized language as far as she could tell. They were living, breathing things. Eventually all the tiny blessings that had formed a bed of light for Sakura dispersed as she reached out for the soft puppy fur grass. She grabbed a crude hold of the ground, tearing a few blades out as she pulled herself onto shore.

"I was hoping I would never have to see you again Sakura-chan." Said an all too familiar voice. Sakura lifted her head to see Osanshouo sitting cross-legged with his staff across his lap. Instead of the small black beady eyes of a normal salamander Osoanshouo's were very much that of a man's. And those old man's eyes were filled with sorrow.

Sasuke paced across the porch of the large, creaking, wooden home Osanshouo had built for all of the children. Sasuke admired how the salamander god had taken such care to make their home look so similar to the world that all of the children once knew. There were even rocking chairs and tables for playing chess scattered about on the wrap around porch. He had tried multiple times to wait patiently in the rocking chairs for Osanshouo to get back but his body refused to obey. Another child was coming in. They hadn't had someone cross over since Sakura and they hadn't had someone stay since he himself had crossed over.

Red flashed before his eyes as memories of his own crossing came flooding back. All of the blood drip, drip, dripping into a river littered with the remnants of war. "Coward!" Sasuke hissed to himself. He hated every fiber of his being when he thought of how he was too afraid to cross back over into his world to face the monsters that pit hundreds of innocent young men against each other.

"Sas..Sas.." Sasuke's heart sank when he heard Sakura's meager voice. She was older he could tell, but at this moment, broken and sobered, Sakura was just a scared little girl. He descended the stairs carefully as if the slightest disturbance would shatter Sakura's already fragile state.

Sakura's hair was matted all across her face and her soaking dress clung to every curve and crevice of her body. Her legs had become too thin and her face had become too hallowed. Before something awful had happened to her, she had already done a significant amount of damage to herself. That much was clear. "Sas…uke." She whimpered.

He approached her carefully and took her small shaking hands in his own. "Come on Sakura we're going to go lay down now, ok?" Sakura allowed herself to be led into the house as her large, sunken green eyes blinked wildly and darted side to side in confusion. Her mouth opened several times to speak but she was never able to make a sound.

Sasuke led her upstairs to his room; curious children peeked out of their bedroom doors as they heard Sakura's wet boots clunking down the wooden hallway. They watched silently, each remembering their own personal tragedy that had turned them into Kawa children.

Sasuke prepared Sakura for bed the best he could. She was still shaking and would flinch at every touch. All he could manage to do was giver her one of his large shirts to sleep in and tucked her away in bed. Osanshouo quietly came up into Sasuke's room and gently touched Sakura on her forehead with his twisted wooden staff. She instantly fell asleep.

Sasuke felt like he could finally breath. "Please tell me you have another one of those-" Osanshouo gently placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and held out a small silver bracelet with a red pearl attached. Sasuke sighed in relief, "Thank god." Osanshouo tried in vain to attached the bracelet around Sakura's wrists but she had lost so much weight that it would simply slip off. He was forced to clasp it around her ankle where it fit perfectly.

"Osanshouo," Sasuke hissed urgently. Sasuke was holding out Sakura's arm staring at the small scars across the inside of her left elbow. "Osanshouo look. What is this?" The salamander god carefully pulled the sheets back of Sakura's legs and leaned over to get a better look at her arms.

"They look like scars. Do you remember seeing anything like it back in the other world?"

Sasuke shook his head in confusion "No… well, yes. But it looks like it's from a syringe like what they used in order to give us medicine. The only difference is it doesn't look as professionally done." As the words came out Sasuke slowly realized what he was saying. She had done it to herself. "They're track marks." He felt a sense of panic build up inside of him. What had she become? "Osanshouo is it possible to end up here own to your own devices?"

Osanshouo shook his head. "No my child." Sasuke felt a sense of relief followed by another flood of panic. This meant that she hadn't been trying to destroy herself in order to get her but it also meant something terrible had happened to her. "We'll talk to her tomorrow Sasuke. The bracelet will keep her mind clear enough to recount everything without breaking down."

Even though Sasuke knew that what Osanshouo said was true he was fairly sure he wouldn't be able to sleep that night. Fortunately for him he managed to doze off on one of the couches downstairs and didn't wake until the oversized sun was looming in the sky.

"Chill out Huckleberry it's too much for your pint size ears to hear."

"…Who's Huckleberry?"

Sasuke's eyes shot open at the sound of Sakura's voice. The screen door slammed into the wall and broke off one of its hinges as he bolted across the porch and into the fine, soft grass of the outside world.

"Come on Sakura! Everyone knows what happened to each other to get us all here so what happened to you?" Kiba snapped as he struggled to re-bait his hook. He sat cross-legged in his dirty overalls with Sakura sitting next to him watching with amusement at his attempts of containing the wriggling worm in his fingers.

"Will you stop it. Hey, look; Jim is building a raft for you guys to sail down the Mississippi together! So scram."

Kiba scratched his head in confusion as he watched Phillip tie together logs in his failing endeavor to make a raft. Phillip had come from Africa six or seven decades before Sasuke. His real name was too hard for everyone to pronounce so they decided to name him Phillip instead. "His name isn't Jim? And even though I have no idea what your talking about I'm fairly sure that comment was racist."

"Sa..Sakura?" Sasuke asked timidly. Sakura tilted her head back looking slightly bored.

"I was wondering when you would wake up." She stood up, brushed off her newly cleaned dress, and smiled very politely. "Thanks for cleaning my dress. I image it was pretty… wet."

Kiba turned around and looked up quizzically into Sasuke's eyes. "What does 'chill out' mean Sasuke? Oh, and also, what's wrong with her?" He asked nodding his head towards Sakura.

"Osanhouooo…" Sasuke called as he tried his hardest not to let Sakura realize how creeped out she was making him. "I think your bracelet was too strong…"

Sakura examined her anklet as Osanhouo hurried out from behind the house, moving at a surprising speed. "Sakura, do you know what happened?" Osanshouo asked sternly.

"Sure do." She nodded matter of factly. "Is this little anklet the reason I feel literally nothing?" She wiggled her foot around in front of them.

"Osanshouo sighed as he placed the end of his staff to the small red pearl around her ankle. There was a small spark of light and Sakura's face went blank.

Sakura stood for a moment as if it was taking all her concentration to keep her balance. There was a flash of recognition across her face followed by a small gasp. And just like that it was as if someone had broken the levee that had been keeping her stable all this time.


End file.
